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Since 2015, the year of the legislative elections, the PS assumes the commitment to “correct the errors of extinction of parishes by ruler and squad”, carried out during the government action of the PSD / CDS-PP, and to “evaluate the territorial reorganization “. Thus, this Monday, Law Proposal No. 68 / XIV / 2 entered the Assembly of the Republic, which aims to correct “specific inaccuracies of the 2013 territorial reform”, known for the movement of aggregation of parishes that triggered .
It is recalled that, in 2013, the approved reform meant the reduction of 4,259 then existing parishes to 3,092.
The National Association of Parishes (ANAFRE) hoped that the Government would present to Parliament a Proposal of Law that would allow the redoing of parishes that took place in 2013. Given that 2021 was a year of municipal elections, the objective was that the proposal is approved. in time for the new parishes eventually created to be able to enter the accounts of said elections, which must be held at the end of September or the beginning of October next year.
According to the president of ANAFRE, Jorge Veloso, according to government calculations, with the proposed proposal, 600 parishes could be reversed, a figure well above ANAFRE’s forecasts. “We understand that there are around 30% to 40% [destas 600] who will not want to reverse, which means that the figure will rise from 380 to 400, “he told the Lusa news agency.
For Jorge Veloso, this amount of reversals is not considered significant and could allow the new map to happen in time for local authorities. Taking into account the new Government proposal, for this to happen, the process of creating new parishes must be resolved in mid-March / April 2021.
ANAFRE expected that the proposal would have been delivered in early October, which was not the case. “It is a situation that causes us a bit of shame, because we delivered our contributions, and the municipalities too, on June 5,” said Jorge Veloso.
Although the Law Proposal was delivered this week, it is recalled that on November 11, in the Assembly of the Republic, the Minister of Modernization of the State and Public Administration, Alexandra Leitão, did not commit to the presentation, Government, of Proposal of the Framework Law in time for the next municipal elections.
The government diploma, now delivered for parliamentary discussion, provides for the establishment of a “general and abstract regime” for the creation, extinction and modification of parishes and comes to fill a “legal gap” with eight years, according to the Ministry of Modernization of the State and Public Administration.
“What the Government has done, in compliance with its program, has been to fill a legal void that has existed since 2012, by presenting to the Assembly of the Republic a Law Proposal that defines general and abstract criteria for the creation, termination and modification of parishes, whose approval is the exclusive reservation of the Assembly of the Republic ”, reads a response sent to the Lusa agency about the entry of the diploma in parliament, this Monday.
According to the cabinet of Minister Alexandra Leitão, who oversees local power, this law “does not create or extinguish specific parishes”, the door is open for this to happen.
The Valongo City Council, in the Porto district, unanimously approved today, December 30, a motion to break up the Campo and Sobrado parishes, proposed by the mayor, José Manuel Ribeiro (PS). “This artificial union of the Parishes of Campo and Sobrado never was, is not and will never be desired by the community. It was a mistake. Now we have an opportunity to correct it that we cannot waste ”, stressed the mayor, in the private meeting of the Valongo City Council, quoted in the statement.
What does the bill proposed by the Government say?
The purpose of the Government’s proposal with Law Proposal No. 68 / XIV / 2nd is to redefine the “legal regime for the creation, modification and extinction of parishes”.
In a “work developed by the Government, in collaboration with the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities and the National Association of Parishes”, this Law Proposal seeks to approve a “general and abstract regime for the creation of parishes, which does not aim to increase or reduce the number of parishes, but before updating the criteria for their creation and defining the respective procedure, also reaching the prompt correction of specific inaccuracies of the territorial reform of 2013 ”.
Thus, the change proposed by the Government to the Assembly of the Republic does not have the immediate objective of creating new parishes, but only to modify the rules that allow it to do so, making it possible, in theory, to change aggregations of parishes that occurred in 2013.
How can you create parishes?
According to the model now proposed, there are two ways to create parishes:
- “Adding all or part of two or more parishes”, which “may belong to different municipalities”
- “For the division of a parish into two or more new parishes”
The evaluation criteria for the formation of new parishes, which should be observed cumulatively, would be the following:
- Provision of services to the population
- Effectiveness and efficiency of public management
- Population and territory
- History and cultural identity
- Political will of the population, expressed by the respective representative bodies
1) Provision of services to the population
This criterion must take into account the verification of some requirements.
Mandatory verification:
- “The guarantee of having at least one worker with a public employment relationship to be transferred from the map of the staff of the parish or parishes of origin, or of the respective town hall”
- “The existence of a building suitable for the installation of the parish headquarters”
Verification of at least five of these seven requirements is required:
- “At least one health extension”
- “Sports team”
- “A cultural facility”
- “A public park or garden with games or recreation for children”
- “Equipment that allows local producers to sell their products”
- “An associative social protection service for the elderly”
- “A community that develops recreational, cultural, sports or social activities”
2) Effectiveness and efficiency of public management
It is also essential to check the economic and financial availability of the new parishes.
- “Verification of the economic and financial viability of the parishes, which will be demonstrated in a financial report resulting from the prospective application of Law No. 73/2013, of September 3, in its current wording”
- “The parish to be created must have a minimum participation in the Parish Financing Fund corresponding to 30% of the value of that fund attributed to the parish or parishes that originate it”
3) Population
It is expected that a minimum number of voters can create a new parish.
- “The number of voters cannot be less than 900 voters per parish”
- “In the interior territories, identified in the annex to Ordinance No. 208/2017, of July 13, the number of voters cannot be less than 300 voters per parish”
4) Territory
Cumulatively, two criteria must be met:
- “The area of the parish cannot be less than 2% nor greater than 20% of the area of the respective municipality”
- “The territory of the parishes is necessarily continuous”
5) History and cultural identity
In accordance with this precept, the “historical origin of the parish to be created must be considered, as an administrative reality, as well as the respective permanence in time and, also, the cultural characteristics that demonstrate its individuality and specific characteristic within the municipality and in relationship with others “. parishes ”.
6) Political will of the population
Once all the other clauses have been fulfilled, it will be urgent to demonstrate the “political will of the population”, in a process that involves several entities.
In this way, this “political will of the population” will be valued through the “democratically elected representative bodies of the population”, which must express their intention to create a new parish in compliance with the provisions of the law that we are now explaining.
In short, the process goes through the deliberative and executive bodies of the interested parishes and the municipal assemblies involved in the process. In case of collecting all the necessary approvals, “the proposal for the creation of parishes is sent to the Assembly of the Republic, so that it may be considered there.”
Prohibition of creating parishes in case of elections in six months
With this bill, “the creation of parishes is not allowed during the six-month period immediately preceding the date set for the national elections.”
However, “in the case of partial elections”, this prohibition “only covers the creation of parishes that are involved in this electoral act.”
Minimum period of existence of new parishes
“After the creation of a parish in the terms of this law, it must be maintained for the next three municipal terms”, can be read in the Proposal of Law.
Previous laws repealed?
If the Bill is approved by the Assembly of the Republic, Law No. 11-A / 2013, of January 11, is totally repealed and “articles 4 to 10 of Law No. 22/2012, of 30 of May, and the other normative dispositions that are incompatible with the present law ”.
Law 11-A / 2013, of January 11, implemented the measures for the administrative reorganization of the territory in 2013. The objective was to create parishes “by aggregation or change of territorial limits”, as can be seen in the Table, attached to the law, which refers to the parishes created.
Law No. 22/2012, of May 30, is also in force, which “approves the legal regime of municipal territorial administrative sanitation”, defining some principles and objectives, at the time, of said sanitation activity.
With the revocation in sight, these principles of parochial aggregation will leave the Portuguese legal map.
Necessary majority in the Assembly of the Republic?
We are facing questions of absolute reserve on the part of the Assembly of the Republic, for which its approval is necessary.
For this bill to be approved, it is necessary that the majority of the deputies be present, that is, that 116 deputies are available to deliberate.
The majority of votes required is a simple majority, which means that, excluding abstentions, if the Government Bill has more votes in favor than against, it passes.
Text of João Maldonado edited by Inês F. Alves
* With Lusa Agency
